Sword of the Ancients
by EarthShatter1397
Summary: A Warden is tasked with retrieving an ancient sword deep within the Myre. Things become get complicated fast and soon he is in the middle of a power conflict between two Samurai.
1. Chapter 1 & 2

1\. After the War

It had been nearly two decades since any sign of war was seen throughout the land. Of course, there were always small disputes about land between two lords, clans, or warlords but nothing on the scale of the war that pit Samurai, Knight, and Viking against each other. Nothing nearly as bloody and brutal as the conflict that ravaged the land for ten long years. Even with the relative peace, the three factions were always on their toes. The Knights were still training Wardens and conscripting Conquerors, the Samurai were always teaching the ways of the Orochi and Kensei to lead the battlefield, and the Vikings were still raising their sons and daughters to be Warlords or Raiders. With the treaties made between the three factions trade routes were set up that made it so the Vikings did not have the need to go raiding the Samurai or the Knights, the Samurai no longer had a shortage of steel or iron as they could get them from the Knights or Vikings allowing for them to make more weapons, and the Knights could trade with either factions for things like books, and other commodities like spices as they already had enough resources to make the best armor and weapons.

2\. Stormwind

Our story starts with the Knights, more specifically a Warden in training known as Grigor Stormwind. He was a very handsome young man aged about 20 with short brown hair, he was among some of the strongest students at the academy and very intelligent, two qualities befitting a Warden. He was known for being very aware, being able to predict attacks any sparring partners threw out, almost as if he had a sixth sense. As well as strong he was fairly tall, the tallest one in his family as it were. He was the son of a physician who had always hoped his son would be like him but alas, Grigor's heart was stuck upon becoming a Warden. He entered into the Warden's academy when he was about eighteen years old when he finally saved up enough gold to buy himself a suit of armor and a sword. Grigor was more determined than anybody at the Warden's academy to join the ranks and be a protector of the innocent and fighter of injustice. He had one major setback though, he was incredibly unlucky. He would have easily passed every trial if it had not been for his hard luck. During his combat test, the pommel fell off of his sword and one of his knee guards seemingly locked into place, tripping him and making him lose the trial. The candle upon his desk fell over and burnt his paper to cinders during his written test. His efforts did not go unnoticed though, the masters of the academy noticed how adept he was at combat and knew that he could easily fell any of the other students in a one on one duel or outwit them with his knowledge if he wasn't so unlucky so regardless of his failures the masters allowed him to pass. Many of the other Wardens-in-training felt him unworthy, they would always mock him and berate him for his ability to fail yet still move through the academy like any of them.

One day upon waking for breakfast and training in the courtyard of the academy Grigor received a note from one of the stewards as he was maintaining his armor.

"Ah! Squire Grigor, I have an urgent note for you from the masters of the academy." The steward said. Grigor hastily grabbed the note from the steward's hands and read it to himself: "Squire Grigor, report to the Hall of Judgement immediately. We have important business concerning your success in this academy we must discuss with you." This sent fear down all throughout Grigor's body. Had the incident in the horse stables finally been the last straw for the masters? Would he be ejected from the academy? Surely the masters understood that some of these incidents were out of his hands! Grigor gathered his courage and headed to the Hall of Judgement that was deep within the bowels of the ancient academy, still wrought with worry.

Grigor approached the large door before the hall and knocked.

"Squire Grigor? If that be you, then enter posthaste." A loud voice echoed from within.

Grigor opened the door with an echoing creak and said: "I'm answering your summons masters."

"Step forth and stand before us squire." Grigor walked forward through the large room, the masters sat behind large desks that were connected to each other in a semi-circle fashion and raised a foot off the ground, almost as if they were surrounding whomever they were judging. The masters themselves were older men who were not fit for combat any longer but still had a wealth of knowledge on combat that could be passed on to future generations on Wardens. The master in the middle spoke after Grigor saluted them. "Squire Grigor, the other masters and I have been watching your progress closely. We see how well you fight and how smart you are with every written assignment you turn in. You are far from being the worst Warden at the academy, though your colleagues might think different. However, many of the other higher-ranking members of this academy doubt our decision to allow you to pass. It is with a heavy heart that we present you with an ultimatum: you must accept a trial by combat or be expelled from the academy… What say you?"

Grigor stood for a moment thinking to himself, he knew that he could very possibly win the trial but what if something went wrong? What if by the curse of his bad luck his cross guard just slipped off of the end of his sword? There were so many possibilities as to what could go wrong but he wasn't prepared to give up on his dream, he would beat this curse and become a Warden or die trying. He looked up at the master and said to them "I accept the trial by combat, who will I be fighting?"

The masters looked at each other and nodded agreeably and then one of them spoke "You will be fighting squire Lupum Moongazer, he is much like you in the sense that he excels at combat, though he seems to lack your curse and as such is at the top of the class. You have three days before the duel will commence in the courtyard at noon. Be there or be expelled from the academy and good luck, Squire Grigor." With their judgment passed and no further questions Grigor saluted the masters and left for his quarters.


	2. Chapter 3

Trial by Combat

Grigor knew who Lupum Moongazer was. He was the son of a local wealthy lord, he always wore his gilded and gaudy armor with ornate engravings in every which way of it's extremely shiny metal and an equally fancy sword to boot. He would constantly talk about how he would polish his sword and armor every day and how the engravings gleamed in the light as he used them ever so proudly. Some would say that his father paid some of his professors to let him pass as he was notorious for not showing up to practice as he thought it was "menial training far beyond a proper Warden-to-be." Grigor heavily resented him for his arrogance, ignorance, and overall attitude towards what being a Warden meant. He knew he could not let him win. He vowed to train hard for the next two days beat this pompous fool no matter what foul luck came upon him.

The next two days Grigor was met with much ridicule from his colleagues. They all said things like "You're better off just being expelled Grigor." In fact Lupum himself had remarked to his friends that the fight would be easy and that Grigor's own bad luck would be his undoing in the battle. Grigor did his best to keep out the negativity and worked his hardest but made sure not to overdo it. He still ate three meals a day and made sure to inspect his armor and sword every few hours to make sure there was nothing that could happen to it. As the moon came up on the final day before the trial by combat, Grigor felt ready and his mind was filled only with purpose. He would defeat that pompous oaf Lupum and claim his rightful title as a Warden of Ashfeld.

The day of the duel was upon him. Grigor awoke and sprung out of his bed at the sound of the rooster crowing. He put on his clothes and headed to the common area to have his (potentially last) breakfast. The stewards provided him with a plate of fine bread with cheese, some wine, and a small bowl of broth to dip his bread in. He could feel the sharp stares of his colleagues upon him as he ate. Noon was nearing and he could see the preparations for the arena being made as he passed by the courtyard. He went back to his quarters to make sure his armor and sword were in good order. He remained in his quarters until he heard a knocking at his door. He opened his door to find a steward who said to him

"Squire Grigor… It is time for the trial, would you like help donning your armor?"

Grigor sighed heavily "Yes, that would be appreciated."

As the steward was helping Grigor put on his armor they said "I truly believe in you Squire Grigor. Many of us do not want to admit it but we don't want Lupum to win. He would make an awful Warden. I wish you the best of luck." Grigor stood silently, absorbed in thought, as the steward finished putting on the rest of his armor.

"Thank you dearly, steward." The steward bowed and went on their way, Grigor then grabbed his helmet and sword and proceeded to the courtyard.

As he made his way to the courtyard he could feel the stares of others as he passed by, some stares were that of empathy while others were that of disbelief. Nobody thought that anyone could best Lupum in one-on-one combat. Finally, Grigor reached the courtyard. Most of the students and a good number of townspeople from nearby came to watch the duel, the masters of the academy were watching from seats on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. Grigor looked up at them and nodded, letting them know he was ready, they looked down on him nodding back. Lupum was nowhere to be seen, however. Grigor stepped into the middle of the arena to await the arrival of his opponent and the beginning of the trial. Soon Lupum came forth from the doors leading to the courtyard with a steward by his side carrying his sword and helmet, the ornate designs on both helmet and sword were gleaming in the sun. The steward handed him his sword and helmet as he stepped into the arena.

He glanced at Grigor and said, "Aha! Grigor, I had heard it would be you whom I would be defeating in this duel but I honestly couldn't believe they'd put someone like you up against someone like me!" Grigor scowled at his pompous remarks "Oh Grigor, come now, you can't seriously expect to beat me, can you? You honestly should have just been expelled rather than throw your life away."

Grigor retorted "Apologies Lupum, I do not use my father's gold as a shield, nor do I use it to get through the academy so easily."

Lupum growled and sneered, "How dare you! We shall see who is worthy Grigor, everyone will watch as I turn you into-"

Just then one of the masters arose from his seat. "Combatants! To your side of the arena, the trial is about to commence!"

"Squires! On my mark, you will fight! Be ye ready!?"

"Aye!" said Grigor confidently as he put on his helmet and unsheathed his sword.

"As always!" Lupum said as he grinned smugly and placed his shiny helmet upon his not-so-bright head.

"…Begin!" the two squires met each other in the center of the arena, swords in hand, staring each other down from their helmets waiting for each other to make the first move. Grigor struck first by aiming for Lupum's side, Lupum guarded the strike with his sword causing a loud clang and sparks to fly from their blades. Lupum tried to follow up with a strike to the shoulder by swinging his sword upward from the guard, Grigor quickly sidestepped and swung for Lupum's torso. The hit landed with a crash causing Lupum to let out a loud grunt and, oddly enough, seem to put a rather large crease in the gleaming armor. Lupum backed away to rethink his strategy while Grigor thought in confusion as to why anyone would wear armor that seems to collapse so easily. Lupum approached Grigor swiftly and swung downward upon him, aiming for the gap between Grigor's helmet and his pauldrons. Grigor sidestepped again but was struck in the pauldron. It was at that point that Grigor felt the pauldron come loose! It was as though the straps around his arms snapped randomly. Grigor retreated quickly after guarding another strike from Lupum. He shook his shoulder about and the pauldron fell from his shoulder. "Blast!" he thought to himself, he would have to guard this now exposed part of his body.

Lupum then cried out "You see Grigor! Your curse of bad luck is already proving to be your undoing!"

Grigor kept his distance and eyed the creased part of Lupum's armor, he quickly went in, feinted an attack to Lupum's helmet and guarded his attempted counterattack allowing him to charge into Lupum with his still armored shoulder. This knocked Lupum off balance for just long enough for Grigor to grasp the sharp end of the sword with one hand while still grasping the sword's hilt with his other hand and guided the tip of his sword to the crease in the armor of Lupus. Sure enough, the armor gave way and the sword pierced Lupum's side. Lupum let out a yelp and the crowd around the two squires gasped in disbelief while the masters looked at each other with approval over Grigor's technique.

Grigor retracted his sword from the side of his opponent and said to him "What good is armor that can't stand a measly little stab, Lupum!"

Lupum was clutching at his side, he could feel the warm blood flowing from his fresh wound. He glared at Grigor who was still in his fighting stance ready for him to try something. Lupum figured his only chance would be a full attack on Grigor's exposed shoulder. One heavy strike that would get through the chainmail and hopefully disable Grigor, causing him to surrender or die. Lupum walked forward and regained his stance, still bleeding. The two combatants circled each other for a few moments before Lupum rushed forward and swiftly hit Grigor in the helmet with the pommel of his sword and breaking his guard. Lupum then came down with an overhead swing with all of his might but Grigor, being the smart man he was, anticipated this. As Lupum's blade was heading for his exposed shoulder Grigor quickly raised his sword to meet the slow and heavy strike that was headed for him where he parried it with his blade and shoved Lupum's arms into the air. Grigor then quickly came down with a quicker overhead strike where he cut the exposed underarm of Lupum's sword arm. Lupum let out another pitiful yelp and dropped his sword. Grigor followed up with a shoulder bash that knocked Lupum off balance and to his knees as he could bear the pain of his two wounds no longer. He looked up at Grigor who was standing over him.

He cried out "Wait, Grigor, please! It doesn't have to end this way, these foolish masters are clearly putting us against each other for their own entertainment! Please have mercy!"

Grigor was still gripping his sword, preparing a final strike. He stood still for a moment looking at the ever famous and pompous young man who had claimed to be the best in the academy with his shining armor and well-crafted sword and pockets full of gold. He then replied: "No Lupum, there will be no mercy for you here. The masters are not doing this for their entertainment, they are doing this to show who is truly worthy to become a Warden. Someone who isn't weak and arrogant… Like you."

With that final sentence, Grigor gripped his sword with both hands by the blade and reeled back for a heavy strike, aiming to pierce Lupum's armor with the crossguard. Of course, as he did this the pommel fell off on the backswing. Nevertheless, Grigor drove the crossguard into the gap between the helmet and pauldron of Lupum's armor. Blood flew from the wound on impact onto the armor of Lupum as he let out one final scream of pain before fainting from shock. Grigor ripped the crossguard from the wound and blood flowed from it like a river, dousing the dirt below Lupum with a thick sanguine hew. Grigor stood back from the bleeding body of the young man who was always so sure of himself. Then he looked around at the crowd. They were all in shock, nobody could have ever thought that Lupum would be defeated.

Soon one of the masters arose from their chair and spoke loudly. "On this day, Grigor Stormwind has been victorious over Lupum Moongazer! A day from now he will be officially recognized as a Warden of the land and as such will be bestowed with the duties that come with the title. Henceforth he will be known as SIR Grigor Stormwind! Go now and rest Warden, your battle was long fought and you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Grigor removed his helmet and saluted the masters. He turned to the crowd and bowed, as he was ready to take his leave a rumbling was heard. Soon what started out as a quiet chant became almost a full-blown battle cry as the crowd cheered "STORMWIND, STORMWIND, STORMWIND!" Grigor then returned to his quarters, had help removing his armor, and relaxed for the rest of the day. The chefs gave him the finest meat and cheese as a celebration for his victory and many congratulations were shared between his other colleagues. He felt like he was finally getting the recognition he deserved. After his celebration, he returned to his quarters once more and slept like a rock throughout the night knowing his dreams were about to become reality the following morning.


	3. Chapter 4

First Orders

The next morning Grigor awoke to a knock on his door. He quickly readied himself and got dressed, opening the door he was met with by a steward.

"Excuse me squi- I mean Sir Grigor, the masters have requested your presence in the Hall of Judgement." He said.

Grigor gave a quick nod and said: "Of course, let them know I'll be down in a moment, I just need to get a few more things together."

The steward bowed and proceeded to leave, assumedly towards the Hall of Judgement. Grigor put on his best clothes and headed for the Hall. He reached the large doors and knocked on them, the noise echoing throughout the walls of the academy.

He then said "Masters, it is I, Grigor Stormwind. May I enter?"

There was a short silence but then he heard one of the masters speak. "Yes, Sir Grigor, please enter and stand before us." Grigor opened the doors with a haunting creak and walked forward towards the masters, once again they were sitting in their desks. Grigor looked at them, the old men sitting behind the desks with their gray hair and fancy clothes. Their stares seemed somewhat threatening.

Finally, one of the masters a rose from his seat with a sword in hand and walked down from the row of desks towards Grigor. "Kneel, if you wish to accept your duty." Grigor took a knee before the master in front of him. The master took the sword placing it over Grigor's right shoulder then his left shoulder whilst saying "By the power invested in the masters of the Warden's Academy, for proving your prowess in combat, dedication, and intelligence you are hereby officially a Warden. Rise… Sir Grigor."

Grigor got up from his kneeling stance and saluted the master in front of him "Thank you, sir, it truly is an honor." He didn't even know it but as soon as the master had called him "Sir" Grigor a smile had developed on his face that went from ear to ear. He never thought this day would come.

"It is about time this day came, Sir Grigor. You are more than worthy to carry the title of Warden, more so than many of the other students here. Now, if you wish, we actually have an assignment for you. As it happens the Knights of the Iron Legion have asked us to send a Warden to retrieve an artifact, a magic sword if you believe in such things, from deep within the Myre. You know this place yes? The vast marshland where Samurai live?" Grigor nodded, "Yes excellent, well should you choose to accept your mission we will have a new suit of armor and sword made for you as a real Warden should have nothing but the best. Also, as it is your first mission you will have help, as capable as we know you are."

Grigor nodded again and said, "If I may ask who is it that will be accompanying me on my endeavor through the Myre?"

"A peacekeeper, very new much like yourself, her name is Cassia Babineaux. She is one of the finest scouts from what we know and will no doubt be of great help to you in navigating the Myre." The master said.

"Well, when do I set out?" Grigor asked eagerly.

"Tomorrow afternoon, you will report to tomorrow in the courtyard where you will meet Cassia and given provisions for your trip. Your armor and blade should be ready by tomorrow just remember to give the smithy your measurements." said the Master

"Yes, master, thank you again for this task, I will not disappoint!" Grigor said with vigor.

"We do not doubt that now go, and safe passage through your endeavors." The Master responded.


End file.
